There are many things that people tend to become concerned about as their parents get older. Things like the physical and mental health and well being of their elderly parents are often top of mind for many adult children. The finances of elderly parents are also often a cause for great concern, especially if the adult children do not live close to them. How can you help to ensure that your parents stay current with their bills and stay away from scam artists who target the elderly without offending them? It is a delicate path to walk, to be sure, but it is entirely possible.
Here are a few tips for helping your parents with their finances as they grow older. It is helpful if you and your parents are able to communicate openly about finances early on, before any signs of aging begin to show. Even casual conversations about where important documents and phone numbers are located to whether your parents have a will are a good start. Sometimes, even the kindest and most casual conversation about finance and aging will be met with resistance. Your parents may not want to acknowledge that they are getting older, and sometimes they prefer to pretend that it’s not happening – which can include shutting down when anyone dares to mention anything that remotely hints that there may come a time when they might need your help with things. If this happens, they may be persuaded to start talking if you let them know that you are simply trying to be prepared in case of an emergency.
Once you have started talking about your parents’ financial affairs, be sure to make note of important names and phone numbers as well as other key information that you discover through your conversations. Keep your notes in a safe and private location where you can access them quickly if needed. Be sure to pay attention when you visit or speak with your parents so that you can notice subtle signs that they may be starting to lose their ability to manage all of their affairs all of the time. Things like forgetfulness, spending money in ways that are out of character for them, not remembering whether they paid a particular bill, and so forth may indicate that it is time for you to offer to keep track of the bills and make sure that they get paid on time. If you are able to do that by visiting them at their home and going through it with them, they may be more likely to trust that you are not taking control away from them, just making sure that nothing fall behind.
These are just a few tips to get you started to navigating the tricky but necessary topic of helping your parents protect their finances as they grow older. It can be very difficult for families to have these types of conversations, but it is well worth it if you consider the possible consequences of letting mom and dad forget to pay their bills or befriend that “kindly stranger” who ends up stealing every last dollar that they have.
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